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Bugeye In The Weeds!

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John Moore said:
But when I found out how bad my current body is, I decided for safety reasons I needed to address that first. And that has really set my project back.
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As you discovered fixing the mechanical parts first is a trap!!! The cost to restore the drive train, suspension and steering is a relatively fixed amount compared to how variable rust repair and body work can be. Hence the often cited advice of starting with the best body you can afford. If you elect to go with a "project body" start with the body work and hope the initial enthusiam and budget will get you through the body repair stage and into the mechanical repair.
 
Ok... so here's the latest.

Today, I went over to the gas station where the car was located. I knew the guy that owned it should be there around 1 or so I went with pockets full of cash. He turned up and we talked a bit about the car, discussed it's good and bads, etc. He had bought it at Carlise, PA early this year, as last year he had a bugeye and lots of guys interested. So far, with this car, a few interested folks but no one with cash. Finally, he told me he wanted $6K for the car! Ouch! So I looked sad and told him that was out of my price range. I had told him I was working on a bugeye, but was trying to find a better body. Turns out he had two more bugeyes back at his yard. One was complete but had been seriously rear-ended. The other was a stripped and sand blasted shell. Unfortuantely, the shell wasn't much better than mine. It needed floors and other panels too. So it would be trading trouble for trouble. He then mentioned he might consider a trade for my shell and cash. So we drove over to my house to check out my shell. He was quite the talker. Turns out he's into big healeys, VW' Buses, etc. Also, his boys are in Scouts and might have been at camp the same time as mine, so we had plenty to talk about.... good! We bonded! lolol He gave my shell a good once over (and yes... he REALLY liked my MGB ). So long story short, he's going to sleep on it and get back to me to see if we can't work out some horse trade.

If nothing else it was an interesting afternoon.
 
Oh, you done well so far.
 
jlaird said:
Oh, you done well so far.
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Thanks Jack, now it's a bit of a waiting game. He's said he's going to the big Car show in Hershey in about two weeks, but if he could sell it now it would save him the trouble of bringing it there, etc.

I did really get a chance to go over it today. It was originally iris blue. The neat thing is that it's all original and very complete. From what I gathered it's from Delaware. The previous owner drove it in his youth and sometime around 1971 parked it in his garage and it sat. I would still have to do some rust repair and probably replace the floor boards, but nothing like what I currently have to do on mine. I hope it works out. Worse case, I know this guy has a bunch of bugeye parts!
 
Maybe it is worth a bit more that 2.5K to you if it is all original and very complete? Especialy if he is willing to trade for it?
 
Sounds like a good potential for a horse trade to me.
A good original car is a hard thing to get hold of. Though you might want to see about a ribcase box and disk brakes, maybe an 1100 engine if you could work them into a trade somehow.
That car looks really nice, with a mobile phone camera.
Did I see a very rare Amco front bumper guard on that car?
 
Yeah, I've wondered if he reads these forums, I dunno!

But yes, I'm interested and with a trade maybe we can make it happen.

Donn, yes there is a Amco bar on the front bumper. I can tell the rear bumperettes have been drilled for something on the top too, but it's gone or maybe hiding in the cave.

I'm on the road for the next few days on business. He has my number so maybe he'll call. He told me he would prefer to sell it local and not have to haul it to Hershey. He also said, he would prefer not to have to do all the "marketing" to sell it online. So it's still a possibility.

I'll keep you posted!
 
Just stay firm to your game plan & price range - it looks good with its paint, but you have no idea what lurks underneath that paint! You could be going backwards & not know it!
 
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